Taunton officials praise Patrick's program to address drug abuse

Community leaders gathered at a forum in Taunton Monday night to reassess the spread of the city’s heroin epidemic.

On Tuesday morning, those fighting addiction in the Silver City received a little help from Gov. Deval Patrick, who announced a series of actions to address the opiate addiction epidemic in the state.

“These actions will help enhance our network of treatment and recovery services to help communities and families struggling with addiction,” Patrick said. “I hope this work results in more families talking openly about issues of addiction in order to spark the process of healing and recovery.”

Patrick’s office said that the measures “will strengthen the state’s ability to respond to the opioid crisis with a focus on prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery.”

A spokesman for Patrick’s administration also said the actions proposed “will have impact on the Greater Taunton area and the commonwealth as a whole. As the recommendations are implemented over the next fiscal year, the impacts on specific communities will become available. “

Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr., the host and an organizer of Monday’s forum, welcomed the news from Beacon Hill. He also served on Patrick’s Opioid Task Force.

“It is certainly good news that the Patrick Administration as well as the Legislature has stepped up to meet the opiate addiction crisis,” Hoye said Tuesday. “Prevention, intervention and treatment for addicts as well as social supports for families are being augmented, which in turn gives those in need hope.”

Patrick has proposed and scheduled a meeting of all New England governors on June 17 at Brandeis University to discuss a regional response to addiction.

Other actions called for by Patrick’s office include expanding and streamlining access to services, enhancing opioid education, addressing insurance practices, expanding correctional system treatment, strengthening safe prescribing and dispensing of prescription medications and expanding peer-support networks.

Taunton has been particularly hard hit by 2014’s wave of overdoses. The city lost 10 residents to fatal overdoses, and emergency services responded to at least 138 more ODs since Jan. 1.

“We took action here in Taunton bringing this issue to light and my hope is our region directly benefits from the governor’s opiate task force’s findings,” Hoye said. “I am proud to have been asked to serve on the task force, and pleased with the finished product. Now it is time to put the ideas into motion.”

Over the past two months, the governor’s Task Force met with families and stakeholders from across the state and worked with the Department of Public Health. Their goal was to develop a set of findings and recommendations designed to improve the Bay State’s opioid abuse prevention and treatment systems, prevent opioid misuse and addiction, and to increase the numbers of persons seeking treatment and recovering addicts.

“Members of the Task Force have put forward strong recommendations, and I thank the governor for committing to these actions that will help improve treatment services and fill any gaps in our recovery system,” said DPH Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett. “Massachusetts already has a strong treatment system, and I look forward to working with our partners in the Legislature and across the Commonwealth to create a national model for recovery.”

Patrick announced the Task Force’s findings Tuesday morning at the Ostiguy Recovery High School in Boston, one of four recovery high schools in the state.

Patrick declared a public health emergency on March 27 and gave the DPH the authority to take immediate steps, including the formation of an Opioid Task Force within the Interagency Council on Substance Abuse and Prevention.

“We, at Learn To Cope, a support group for families struggling with the disease of a loved one, have seen our membership grow for 10 years,” said Mary E. D’Eramo of Learn to Cope. “We appreciate the efforts of this task force, engaged by Gov. Patrick to develop solutions to making things better for all of the citizens of the Commonwealth. We hope these solutions from this task force take direct aim at the causes, the barriers and make the difference to turn the tide in Massachusetts.”

The task force, chaired by Bartlett, a registered nurse, was charged with developing additional policy recommendations to strengthen the state’s response to what was now classified as a “public health emergency.”

Patrick’s emergency steps made overdose antidote Narcan widely available to first responders and in pharmacies and accelerated the mandatory enrollment of prescribers in the Prescription Monitoring Program.

Patrick also took aim at what many consider the root cause of the epidemic: prescription painkiller abuse.

“It is reassuring to those of us on the front lines to know that Governor Patrick has the courage and conviction to tackle this issue head on,” said John McGahan, a task force member and President of the Gavin Foundation in Boston. “Governor Patrick understands that addiction is a complex issue that must be addressed through a broad spectrum of governmental agencies. The approach announced today addresses a public health crisis without compromising public safety, one that supports communities, families and the persons seeking recovery.”

Another task force member, Paul Kusiak, a board member of the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, praised Patrick’s efforts.

We cannot thank Governor Patrick enough for his unwavering support for substance abuse services.”

“I am grateful for Governor Patrick’s leadership, which brought together organizations, families, and individuals from across our state,” Kusiak said. “Everyone’s input was valuable and needed to better address an opioid epidemic that’s like no other that I’ve ever experienced. Much needed funds, resources, and focus will save lives and help more families heal.”